HID fogs - why does it take 5-8 on/off presses to stay on

[NYCSterling]

So i disabled the cold monitoring on my fog lights using BMW Scanner 1.40.
At the same time I changed my 3500K bulbs to 5000K bulbs from a Kensun 35Watt kit I bought. It was too cold to change the existing ballast also.( have already the HID conversion etc.. )

So to get my fogs to stay on, I need to press on and off and on and off... quite a few times before it stays on.

Any ideas?
Was it the cold monitoring I unchecked?
Was it because i used a 5000K bulb from a 35W kit with a ballasts from another kit?

[Clockwork]

so the color (5,000 kelvin) is irrelevant.
the aftermarket HID ballast/Igniter/Bulb you had installed before never gave you issues till you played with "cold monitoring" setting with BMW Scanner 1.4?

FYI, cycling your HID's on that much to get them to work is VERY bad for the bulbs.

when you press the Fogs "on" does just one light up? Is that why you have to press on/off multiple times to get both to light, OR does neither turn on till you press the on/off button many times?
if thats the case, then it could be lesser quality Igniter/ballasts/bad wiring connection.

You have error cancelers installed?

[crystalworks]

More importantly... is the kit wired up with a relay or straight off the factory wiring? If not on a relay, install one.

[NYCSterling]

The original HID ballast/Igniters always needed at most 2 presses to get both bulbs on.

Currently just 1 fog light comes on after 2 press... then the other comes on after 5-8

Negative on error cancelers... Where in the circuit do those go?

[Clockwork]

error cancelers go between factory wiring and aftermarket ballast/igniter box. But Crystalworks is correct. you should set up a relay between the factory wire harness and igniter/ballast box.
I never did and the fluctuation of my light output drove me nuts to the point I just put Halogen bulbs back in fog lights.
having said, now I have one less thing to worry about with my X5. Sometimes factory spec is best :p

[Ricky Bobby]

I'm using the TRS kit with Morimoto Ballasts/Bulbs and their Canbus error cancelling modules - TRS had an issue with an underspec'd igniter on their ballasts a few years ago. They redesigned and came out with a better ballast. Since then, not a single misfire ever.

I used to have the same problem. I chalk it up to cheaper components in the HID kit used.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

I'm using the TRS kit with Morimoto Ballasts/Bulbs and their Canbus error cancelling modules - TRS had an issue with an underspec'd igniter on their ballasts a few years ago. They redesigned and came out with a better ballast. Since then, not a single misfire ever.

I used to have the same problem. I chalk it up to cheaper components in the HID kit used.

[Clockwork]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

I'm using the TRS kit with Morimoto Ballasts/Bulbs and their Canbus error cancelling modules - TRS had an issue with an underspec'd igniter on their ballasts a few years ago. They redesigned and came out with a better ballast. Since then, not a single misfire ever.

I used to have the same problem. I chalk it up to cheaper components in the HID kit used.

Jason, how much did the Morimoto system cost you?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[jdstrickland]

You know that the lights come on then go off then warm up and come on slowly, right?

The initial voltage makes the lamps "blink" on, then they fade off as the ballast warms up, then fade back on. HIDs do not -- well, some might but mine don't -- just turn on like a regular lamp, they come on slowly. I put HID low and high beams on my car, and they come on slowly. When I turn the lights on, they flash for a moment then fade out then come up to speed slowly. It probably takes 5 to 10 seconds for the lights to come on.

If you are turning the lights on and off several times, try just waiting a few seconds to see if they warm up as they come on.

[NYCSterling]

hmmm.. I will try that for sure!

The current ballasts are DDM tinung from years ago... and I have yet to install the Kensun ones i recently purchased. Hope they are better quality.

Once the weather gets better in NY I will try to do the swap and also look into the error cancelers if it turned out that it is needed.

Also - how does one setup a relay between the the factory wiring and ballast?

thank you all chaps !